Smoked Salmon & Potato Salad
Whether you’re smoking the salmon yourself or purchasing it, the rich flavor of hot-smoked salmon is a great counterpoint to the tart flavor of this herbal vinaigrette. You can easily smoke it at home yourself with a smoker box for woodchips which gets placed on your grill. Dressing the potatoes with vinegar while they are warm will allow them to absorb more flavor because they’re more porous at that point. Mussels and potatoes are a classic French salad combination. If you can smoke some mussels yourself or find them in a store, add them for a true French touch.
Smoked Salmon & Potato Salad
Yield: 4 servings
2 lbs. small yellow or white potatoes
¼ cup + 3 tablespoons white wine or champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
½ cup olive oil
4 green onions, thinly sliced
3 stalks celery, cut into ¼” dice
12 butter lettuce leaves, for plating
½ lb. hot-smoked Salmon, broken into large flakes
16 smoked mussels (optional)
Wash potatoes and place whole potatoes into a stockpot filled with cold water. Add about 3 tablespoons of salt to the water and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes until a paring knife can be easily inserted into the center without using force.
While potatoes are boiling, combine the vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, garlic, and half of the tarragon and dill in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine the ingredients together. While whisking vigorously in a zig-zag pattern, slowly drizzle in the ¼ cup olive oil into the center of the bowl to emulsify with the vinegar mixture. Taste dressing for seasoning and adjust as necessary with additional salt and pepper.
When potatoes are done, drain and slice into ¼” thick slices and place in a bowl. Drizzle with the reserved 3 tablespoons of vinegar and allow to cool.
When potatoes are cool, add ¾ of the vinaigrette, reserving the rest for garnish. Add the green onions and celery. Toss the salad to coat evenly with the dressing.
Arrange 3 lettuces leaves to cover the center of a salad or dinner plate. Plate the potato salad in center of the lettuce leaves. Divide the flaked smoked salmon over the top of the potato salad. If using, arrange 4 mussels around the base of each salad. Drizzle salmon and mussels with a little of the reserved dressing and garnish with a sprinkling of the reserved herbs.